Now in its fourth year, the festival will show 26 films under its dual program categories, “Laugh” and “Peace.” Selections include movies from Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and China, while guests include Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), British director Joe Cornish and actor Nick Frost (“Attack the Block”), and Korean director Kim Jung-Kwan and actress Han Ye-Seul (“Penny Pinchers”).

“The basis is a film festival, but I want this to become an entertainment festival, and not just for Japan, but Asia and the wider world,” said Tetsu Yoshikawa, a spokesman for the weeklong fest. “We don’t want it to feel formal. This is an event for everyone to relax and enjoy movies.”

About Japan Real Time

Japan Real Time is a newsy, concise guide to what works, what doesn’t and why in the one-time poster child for Asian development, as it struggles to keep pace with faster-growing neighbors while competing with Europe for Michelin-rated restaurants. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, the site provides an inside track on business, politics and lifestyle in Japan as it comes to terms with being overtaken by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. You can contact the editors at japanrealtime@wsj.com